How does the boy go to the river in chapter how far is the river
Answers
Answer:
Ruskin Bond’s short story ‘How far is the River’ is taken from a volume of his
collection. The short story reflects the writer’s understanding of the psychology of a
12-year-old boy who longs to go out and explore Nature. Between the boy and the river
stood a mountain. The boy was young and the river was small but the mountain was
high. The mountain concealed the river and so the boy had never seen the river but had
heard a great deal about it, of the fish in its waters, of its rocks and currents and
waterfalls. The boy felt a great desire to touch the water of the river and ‘know it
personally’. This short story deals with an unnamed twelve year old boy, a sturdy boy
with untidy black hair and shining eyes, sharp features and a clear brown skin. How he
undertakes a long and arduous walk to locate the river in the absence of his parents in the
house that day forms the plot of the short story. As he walks towards the river, he meets
woodcutters, milkman and mule drivers. Unfortunately the boy is not able to get clear
directions about the river and its exact location. But he still continues to walk, suddenly
he encounters a village boy who smiled in a friendly way and told him that the river was
not very far away. They have lunch together, and then walk for some time. Soon his
companions had to diverge along another path and the boy was again on his own. He felt
tired, lonely, miserable and hungry and tempted to return to his house. But if he failed he
would always be ashamed of the experience. Finally to his great delight the boy heard a
sudden roaring sound, the sound of the river. It tumbled over rocks and the boy gasped
and ran towards it. Although he slipped and tumbled, he still ran forward. Then he was
ankle deep in the bitter cold mountain water which was blue and white and wonderful.
At last the boy fulfilled his dream. The conclusion is abrupt and leaves the reader to draw
his /her own conclusion.